


History of Violence

by Mieteve_Minijoma



Series: Fairytale of New York [6]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hal Cooper Being an Asshole, Hal Cooper Has Issues, Hal Cooper is a piece of garbage, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Kidnapping, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, OC Bughead Baby Girl, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jughead Jones, Psychological Trauma, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sad with a Happy Ending, Serial Killers, Seriously guys this is dark af, Strangulation, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mieteve_Minijoma/pseuds/Mieteve_Minijoma
Summary: “Are you out of your mind?? Absolutely not! Even if I remotely wanted to be there, I can guarantee you that my doctor would have a fucking shit-fit, Polls. I’m already high risk and that kind of stress in my third trimester - especially this close to my due date - wouldn’t be good for the Peanut. I already told Mom that I sent a signed affidavit for my witness statement to the lawyers, but I will not let that monster put my child at risk. He’s taken enough from me already.” Betty stated firmly, rubbing her belly to keep calm.Don’t stress, Elizabeth. It’s bad for the baby. He can’t hurt you anymore.“I know, Betty. And you know I don’t want to be there either but Edgar says--” Betty groaned into the phone and rolled her eyes.This shit again? Really?“Let me stop you right there, Pollyanna. I love you, you're my sister, but I fucking swear if you bring your husband’s spiritualist, new age bull shit up one more time, I might fucking explode. My last name may be Jones, but I ain’t going anywhere near that fucking kool-aid. Give. It. A. Rest,” she gritted through clenched teeth. She was tired of talking in circles with her sister, especially since they were both victims of the same devil.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: Fairytale of New York [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595365
Comments: 14
Kudos: 92





	History of Violence

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, I am back again with my newest installment. Now I gotta tell you, this one gets REALLY dark. There are some very heavy themes here that give us some insight as to why Betty became an agent in the first place. I felt it was important to show her trauma to understand her character, but that being said, I put a clear warning at the start and end of the triggering parts. That way if you choose to skip it, there will be notes at the end to go over what happened (no details). 
> 
> It took me a while to get this one done the way I wanted so I hope you enjoy it. I promise, there is a happy ending to this one that I hope you all will enjoy. Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> -Bina

**_~~Dec 31, 2019 - 11:00 AM - 12 Days Until Due Date~~_ **

“Are you out of your mind?? Absolutely not! Even if I  _ remotely  _ wanted to be there, I can guarantee you that my doctor would have a fucking shit-fit, Polls. I’m already high risk and that kind of stress in my third trimester - especially this close to my due date - wouldn’t be good for the Peanut. I already told Mom that I sent a signed affidavit for my witness statement to the lawyers, but I  **will not** let that monster put my child at risk. He’s taken enough from me already.” Betty stated firmly, rubbing her belly to keep calm.  _ Don’t stress, Elizabeth. It’s bad for the baby. He can’t hurt you anymore. _

“ _ I know, Betty. And you know I don’t want to be there either but Edgar says _ \--” Betty groaned into the phone and rolled her eyes.  _ This shit again? Really? _

“Let me stop you right there, Pollyanna. I love you, you're my sister, but I fucking swear if you bring your husband’s spiritualist, new age bull shit up one more time, I might fucking explode. My last name may be Jones, but I ain’t going anywhere near that fucking kool-aid. Give. It. A. Rest,” she gritted through clenched teeth. She was tired of talking in circles with her sister, especially since they were both victims of the same devil. 

“ _ Okay, okay. No need to get hostile, Elizabeth. I just think forgiveness may do you a great deal of good. It helped me to deal with the pain better than any therapy I tried. I just want to help you too, sis _ .” Polly replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. It probably would have made Betty feel guilty for her outburst if she wasn’t so angry at her sister’s suggestion.

“Well, I’m not you, Polls. You may be able to forgive him for what he did to you, but I can’t. You have some idea but will never know exactly what that monster did to me - what he put me through. He can burn in the darkest depths of hell for all I care, it’s what he deserves. All he is doing now is delaying the inevitable and I vowed to myself I would not look him in the eyes again until they put that needle in his arm.” Betty’s voice trembled as she hung up, her hands shaking as she sunk to the floor, bursting into tears as the memories of  _ that _ night came flooding back. 

** * * *TRIGGER WARNING - NOTES AT THE END* * * **

_ “You should have listened to me, you little bitch. Always too nosy for your own damned good. Just like your fucking mother,” Hal growled as he held her down. Betty struggled for air, her hands clawing at her father’s wrists as he cut off her airway. This was not how she thought she’d die someday. Not at the hands of her very own flesh and blood.  _

_ The family was supposed to be gone already, but when Betty snuck back into the house she made a haunting discovery that led her to this moment. She wasn’t supposed to be home either, none of them were. Polly and Charles had left a few hours ago to catch their flight to Cancun for Spring Break and she was supposed to be staying at Nancy’s for the week while her parents were both on separate business trips.  _

_ However, that was just her cover story. No one knew what Betty was really doing home. She’d been spending all her free time camming for extra funds in order to get out of this hellhole town and away from her parents. Away from the nightmare she had been living in for over half a decade and the father who would hurt her constantly.  _

_ No one knew the abuse she suffered at the hands of the man who was supposed to protect her. How he would hurt her - doing things to her that no father should do to his daughter - and then he would force her not to tell. He said he was the only one who loved her and that no one would believe her even if she did tell someone.  _

_ She’d spent the last six years keeping his dirty secret, holding the darkness in herself that he placed there the first night he snuck into her bedroom. She was only ten years old at the time and that was the night her childhood ended, shattered by the man she had always looked up to. _

_ Betty’s mind began to fog, her vision getting blurry from lack of oxygen until she felt his grip on her throat lessen. She felt him pulling on her leggings and then his weight was on her and she shut down, just like she always did. She turned her head and gasped for air, locking eyes with the woman her father had suspended from the support beams in the basement. _

_ She knew Hal was a monster, but she never realized until that moment just how much of a monster he really was. The murders, the assaults, the rapes - all linked to the man her parents labeled The Black Hood. A man who turned out to be her very own abuser - her father.  _

_ All this time he was the one who had Riverdale’s residents cowering in fear, and she couldn’t help but think that if she just told someone what happened to her - what he did to her - that she could have stopped him. Tears slipped from her eyes as he took what he wanted from her, holding her down and whispering things to her that made her skin crawl. _

_ Betty squeezed her eyes closed, no longer strong enough to stare at the frightened woman he had strung up and prayed silently for him to kill her. At least then he could never hurt her again, he could never take this from her again if she was dead. Suddenly, she heard a scream and felt her father being ripped off of her body.  _

_ She blinked through the tears, curling into a ball and sucking air into her burning lungs again. She glanced up to see her brother sitting on their father’s stomach, beating him in the face until he was left bloody and unconscious. Betty turned to see her sister’s tear-stained face as Polly covered her partially nude body in her trenchcoat and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Betty. I didn’t know he was doing it to you too. I’m sorry. I should have known, I should have said something... God, I’m so sorry, Betty...”  _

_ Polly held her in her arms and sobbed while Charles untied the woman Hal had been holding hostage, wrapping her in a blanket before he called 911. He tied Hal up and then walked over to them, holding them both in his arms. She stared at Hal’s lifeless body and prayed that he wouldn’t wake up. After everything he did to her - after all the horrible things he did to those other people - she didn’t want him to live. He deserved to rot in hell for the rest of eternity.  _

_ When the police finally arrived, they took pictures of the scene and rushed both women to the hospital for treatment. After Betty arrived, they took pictures of her injuries and administered a rape kit before the detectives came in to ask her questions about the attack.  _

_ They explained that she was safe now, that he couldn’t hurt her anymore, and that she could trust them to protect her from him. Finally, it all just spilled out of her, every last degrading and horrible thing he did to her. She told them about all the times he raped her, beat her, and mentally abused her.  _

_ The detectives questioned Polly and Charles as well, learning that they were only home because their flight had been delayed until the next day and they came home to save money on a hotel. If they hadn’t decided to head home, Betty probably would have been dead right now. After the police left, she laid in her bed and stared at the wall. She was finally free from her personal hell, but she was still afraid he would come back for her. _

_ “Bug? How are you doing?” Charles asked softly as he came into her room, sitting beside her before pulling her into a hug. She knew Charles probably blamed himself, just like Polly, but neither of them could have known. The Coopers were too good at hiding their secrets for anyone to know. _

_ “I-Is he dead?” Betty whimpered into his shoulder. Charles shook his head and held her tighter.  _

_ “No, but if I had my way he would be. I’m sorry, Bug. I wish-- God, if I knew before...” he choked. She buried her face into her brother’s neck and they sat together and silently sobbed. After a while, Polly came back from her interview with the police and the three siblings sat in silence for a while before promising they would never keep secrets from each other ever again and that, no matter what, they would protect each other from their horrible father at all costs. _

*** * *END OF TRIGGER WARNING - NOTES AT THE END* * ***

**_~~Dec 31, 2019 - 11:24 AM - 12 Days Until Due Date~~_ **

“Betts, I’m home!” Jughead called out as he kicked the front door closed behind him. He’d just left a meeting with their bosses to settle a few things with the latest case, and his new role on the team, before stopping by the market to pick up stuff to make Betty her favorite meal. 

They had made plans to spend this New Year’s Eve relaxing at home together, snuggling on the couch with a few glasses of sparkling grape juice and watching the ball drop in Times Square. He’d honestly been looking forward to it, he’d missed the little things like this while he was away from her and they had a lot of time to catch up on.

When he got no reply from Betty, he looked around in confusion. Usually, she would meet him at the door so he immediately knew something wasn’t right. Everything was deathly silent except for the sounds of whimpering coming from inside their bedroom. Jughead threw down the grocery bags and raced to the door, terrified that Betty was hurt. Once he reached their room, his heart broke in two at the sight of his wife, curled into a ball and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Betty!” he shouted as he collapsed beside her, prying her hands apart to keep her from causing more damage to her hands. He tore off his flannel and placed it in her hands instead, whispering in her ear, “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you, you’re safe. Is it the baby? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” 

Betty couldn’t respond, so he checked her over himself, making sure she wasn’t injured anywhere before focusing on the issue at hand. He knew she was having a panic attack and he needed to calm her down. She had told him that her doctor had already explained that she needed to keep her stress levels down for the baby’s sake. He pulled her into his lap and placed her head against his chest to listen to his heart. “Breathe with me, Betts. In... out... in...out... Come on, slow breaths, baby.”

After twenty minutes of grounding exercises, Betty’s breathing finally regulated and her tears were reduced to minor sniffles. Jughead rubbed his hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe whatever pain she was feeling that caused her to spiral like this. He finally spoke up when he thought she was calmed down enough to speak, “What happened, baby?”

“P-Polly called. She wanted me to-- God Jug, she had the  _ nerve _ to tell me that I needed to forgive that asshole for what he did to me. As if anything he could ever say or do will change the fact that he will always be a monster to me. She even tried to bring Edgar’s advice into the conversation again.” Jughead’s jaw clenched as she spoke and he vowed to have a few choice words with his sister in law at the next family gathering. 

“That’s it, I’m putting laxatives in their herbal tea next time we visit,” Betty let out a watery chuckle as he continued, “Polly should’ve never asked you to do that, Betts. That’s your choice to make and you already made it clear to her and Alice that you have no intention of ever having anything to do with that man again. They need to respect that. What does Charlie think of all of this?”

“You know Charles. He has my back one hundred percent and if he had his way, Hal would be dead ten times over by now,” she sighed while Jughead helped her off the floor and into the bathroom to get her cleaned up. He sat her down on the toilet and grabbed the first aid, getting everything ready while she continued, “Charles wants to see Hal fry for what he did to me and all those people. He’s just as tired as I am of all the court hearings and stalling tactics that his lawyers have used to keep him alive. We both just want it to be over.”

“I know you do, baby. I know,” he murmured, cleaning the dried blood off of her palm.

“And now his lawyer is pushing to have his sentence commuted to life instead of the death penalty! Can you believe that garbage? He murdered four people, attempted to kill Mrs. Jenkins, raped God knows how many women, and sexually abused me and Polly for years! If anyone deserves to die, it’s Hal Cooper,” Betty spat, her anger at horrible memories flooding her veins. It took her years of therapy to heal from what he did to her and now her sister just expects her to forgive him like it was nothing? Betty couldn’t see herself doing that at all. Ever. 

“You know the judge will never allow that to happen, Betty. That man is evil incarnate and any judge in their right mind will see that. They have your affidavit and all the recordings from the previous hearings and your interviews. You are a seasoned FBI agent who runs her own task force and he is a convicted rapist and murderer. They will believe you over him, even if you aren’t there this one time,” Jughead assured her as he finished cleaning her hands.

“But they are still going to use the camming against me, Jug. They have all the records and their going to paint me out to be a lying who--”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Elizabeth Jones. You are not a whore and I will be damned if that asshole and his team of bloodsuckers try to paint you as such. If I have to parade the entire bureau and half the ATF into that courtroom as character witnesses, I will,” he stated firmly, his protective side coming forward and warming Betty’s heart. 

Betty was so thankful that she had him in her life to help her through the rougher things like this. She’d told him all about her past and everything that had happened to her early on in their relationship because she didn’t want there to be any secrets between them. He, in turn, told her about his alcoholic gang leader father and his emotionally constipated drug-dealing mother. They were both damaged, looking for a place to belong, and they just happened to find it in each other. 

“Thank you, Juggie. I don’t know where I would be today if not for you. I’m really glad you’re home. I don’t think I could have handled any of this without you. I love you so much...” Betty whispered, fresh tears springing into her eyes.

“I love you too, Betts. Come on, let’s get you freshened up,” Jughead kissed the top of her head before turning to place everything back into the first aid kit. He was just about to run her a hot shower when he heard her cry out in pain. “Betty, are you okay?”

“Jug...” she paused and gripped her stomach, her face ashen, “I-I think my water just broke...”

* * *

**_~~Jan 1, 2020 - 1:04 AM - Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center~~_ **

Jughead stared down at the tiny bundle in his arms, the chubby-cheeked little miracle that was less than an hour old sleeping peacefully in his arms, and grinned. After Betty’s water had broken, he rushed her to the hospital and a little over thirteen hours later their daughter, Beatrix Elanor Jones, came screaming into the world. The moment she was born his heart burst wide open, overflowing with love for her and his beautiful wife. 

He had never seen anything that was more terrifying and miraculous at the same time. Watching Betty go through all that pain (at least until the epidural kicked in) just to bring his child into the world was an amazing sight to behold. They'd both broken down in tears when the nurse laid their daughter on Betty’s belly for the first time. Jughead had leaned over her shoulder, whispering praises and love into her ear, listening to the cries of their baby girl.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Betty’s sleepy voice broke Jughead from his thoughts. He looked up and smiled at her, standing to walk over to sit on the bed beside her.

“It’s because she looks like her Momma,” he whispered as he handed a now squirming Beatrix to Betty. In actuality, Beatrix was a fairly good mixture of the two of them. She had a shock of black curls that matched her father’s, but she also had Betty’s large doe eyes. Jughead secretly hoped they'd be green eyes like Betty’s as well, however, she was hoping for the cerulean blue of Jugheads. “How are you feeling, Betts?”

“I’m feeling alright, just a bit tired is all. Could you help me for a sec?” 

“Yeah, baby, what do you need?”

“Can you grab me an extra pillow? I need to feed Kiddo.” Betty said, unwrapping Beatrix from her swaddling and unsnapping the side of her hospital gown. He smiled at the nickname, happy that she finally warmed up to the name he picked out for their baby girl.

Jughead nodded and grabbed a pillow from his cot and placed it in her lap. He watched in awe as Betty helped Beatrix latch on to her nipple just like the breastfeeding coach had taught her. It took a few tries but finally, she began to suckle and Betty sighed in relief. She glanced up at Jughead and smiled excitedly.

“She did it, Juggie!”

“Of course she did, she’s a Jones. We can smell food a mile away and we love boobs,” he teased. She smacked him on the arm and laughed.

He chuckled, sitting back down beside her to swipe his hand over the fine hairs on his daughter’s head. “Seriously though, she’s your kid, Betts. She's gonna be smart as hell and just as beautiful as you are.”

“You sure do know how to sweet talk a girl, Jones,” Betty said sweetly, using her free hand to pull him into a tender kiss before focusing back on her nursing child. They sat in silence for a while until she handed Beatrix to Jughead to burp her while she switched sides. 

“Have you called anyone yet?” she asked.

“Just Charlie and JB. I figured I’d call Alice tomorrow. And it’s probably best that Alice calls Polly cause if I talk to her, I might rip her a new one for upsetting you the way that she did.” 

Betty regarded the scowl on his face as he patted the baby’s back and nodded. She knew he was still fuming over what happened earlier in the day and part of him blamed Polly for her going into labor early. 

Truthfully, she knew the stress was probably what caused her to go into labor but she didn’t want to worry about any of that right now. She’d deal with all of that drama later, all she cared about right now was spending time with her husband and their daughter.

“Hey, let’s not worry about that right now, okay? All I want is to bask in our little bubble for a while longer, the rest of the world can wait. Alright, Jug?” Betty asked as she relatched Beatrix to her other breast. Jughead sighed heavily and agreed. 

“Okay, Betts. Anything for you. You know I love you, right? More than anything...” he said softly, kissing her on the forehead before staring back down at Beatrix.

“I love you too, Juggie.” 

**Author's Note:**

> ******TRIGGER WARNING CLIFF NOTES******
> 
> Okay so basically we learn that Hal has been physically, mentally, and sexually abusing Betty and Polly since they were little. Hal is also a serial killer/rapist and he has kidnapped a lady and is holding her hostage in the basement of their home. Betty comes home and catches him and he rapes her and tries to kill her but is saved by Charles (he beats the mess outta Hal) and Polly who got her to the hospital. 
> 
> This is the trauma that led her to become an agent because she wanted to spot other people like her father from hurting anyone else ever again.


End file.
